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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24712813">The Hill</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurmagic025/pseuds/merthurmagic025'>merthurmagic025</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:22:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24712813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurmagic025/pseuds/merthurmagic025</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Merliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!" Arthur screamed as he rolled down the hill with absolutely no control over his body. The hill just kept going, and every time he flipped onto his right shoulder, his chainmaille got shoved into it. It got worse and worse every rotation, since he now had a bruise forming. </p><p>When he finally reached the bottom, Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. It was then that he decided to open his eyes, only to see Merlin rolling down the hill, headed straight for him. "Merlin! Stop! You're going to-"</p><p>Arthur was cut off mid-sentence as Merlin tumbled into him. They both went rolling a little more, then settled on a flat section. Merlin was directly on top of Arthur.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>190</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Hill</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! This is another re-write of an old fic from 2014 or so that I originally published on ff.net. I changed this one fairly significantly, since the perspective was really ambiguous originally and I'm a sucker for fics from Arthur's perspective! I hope you enjoy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>Morgana stood at her window, watching Arthur and Merlin leave the castle together, bantering back and forth. <em> They are walking oddly close to each other </em> , she thought. She shook her head and chuckled a bit. <em> It's probably just Arthur being Arthur. After all, the only time I've seen him act like himself is with Merlin. </em></p><hr/><p>Arthur watched as Merlin smiled happily, practically skipping through the grass. The two of them were going hunting together, and Merlin was strangely excited. Granted, Arthur was also happy to be going out in the woods again. He’d hardly been outdoors the last week due to a debate with the council that never seemed to end. His father had some idea that everyone disagreed with, as usual, and Arthur had to back him up even if he didn't quite agree. In that time, he hadn’t seen Merlin as much as usual either. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but himself (and even then, barely), but being away from the servant made him ache a little. He wasn’t sure when he’d become so attached, but it was clear that Merlin’s presence was a very welcome and very necessary thing in Arthur’s life.</p><p>As they entered the forest, Arthur stopped walking to let himself feel the breeze against his cheeks and listen to the rustle of the leaves. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the distinct earthy scent of Camelot’s forests. A small, contented smile made its way onto his face and as he opened his eyes, he saw Merlin looking at him with a matching expression.</p><p>As they began walking again, Arthur noticed Merlin looking off into the distance in the direction of a small hill with a single tree at the top. It really was a beautiful hill, with perfectly green grass and smooth sides. Arthur wished he could go sit on it for a while to take a break from his responsibilities and just take in the view, but they were supposed to be hunting. After the week they’d had, his father would certainly not appreciate Arthur coming back empty-handed.</p><p>Merlin sighed out loud and shook his head. This movement caught Arthur's attention. "What is it?" he asked.</p><p>Merlin sighed again, solemnly responding, "It's nothing."</p><p>Arthur didn't fall for that, and he stopped walking. "Merlin," he began, turning to face the other man. "What is it?"</p><p>Merlin hesitated, but decided to speak. "Do you see that hill over there?" He pointed, and Arthur nodded. "Could we go sit on it?"</p><p>Arthur scoffed, but inwardly contemplated the idea. He’d been thinking about it himself, but his responsibility was to bring back some food. However, now <em> Merlin </em>wanted to go sit on the hill as well, and Arthur was well-aware of his weakness towards the boy. If Merlin wanted to go sit on the hill… He really didn’t want to say no and see his servant’s disappointed face.</p><p>As if reading Arthur’s mind, Merlin started rambling, "I know we’re supposed to be hunting, but it probably has a great view of the kingdom, and..." He trailed off, as he couldn't think of another reason to go to the hill. "I just <em> really </em>want to!"</p><p>Arthur sighed, knowing there was no way he could deny Merlin this. "Okay, fine, we can go sit on the hill. Happy?" Merlin nodded vigorously and Arthur fought to keep a straight face. It was all well and good to give in every now and then, but he certainly shouldn’t be happy about being so weak when it comes to Merlin. </p><p>Promptly, Merlin sprinted in the direction of the hill, breaking Arthur’s resolve as he let out a laugh and ran after him, armor clanging.</p><hr/><p>Arthur was nearly out of breath after running for so long, but Merlin had started to climb the hill at a very fast speed, so he had no choice but to follow. Every step made his armor feel heavier and heavier, until he could barely continue. Luckily, by the time it reached that point, he had made it to the top of the hill and he settled under the lone tree.</p><p>Merlin was sitting beside him, and Arthur turned to look at his servant. His blue eyes were wide open, filled with an awed look. Arthur followed his gaze out to the horizon.</p><p><em> Well, he was certainly right about the view, </em> Arthur thought. He put his crossbow down next to him. The sun was sitting just above the horizon, getting ready to set. From the top of that hill, Arthur could see the entire citadel. He let his thought wander as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. This would be his kingdom soon. He questioned his father’s ideas, but had no real concept of how to improve them. <em> What makes a good king? How can I make my people happy? Will they be disappointed in me? What if I’m just not meant to rule? </em> He sighed.</p><p>Arthur put his hands behind his head and leaned back onto the ground to stare at the sky. He'd nearly forgotten Merlin was there with him, until he felt hands pushing on his side and heard a stifled giggle.</p><p>Arthur tried to steady himself, but to no avail. He started spinning, slowly at first, then rapidly as the incline steepened. "Merliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!" Arthur screamed as he rolled down the hill with absolutely no control over his body. The hill just kept going, and every time he flipped onto his right shoulder, his chainmaille got shoved into it. It got worse and worse every rotation, since he now had a bruise forming. </p><p>When he finally reached the bottom, Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. It was then that he decided to open his eyes, only to see Merlin rolling down the hill, headed straight for him. "Merlin! Stop! You're going to-"</p><p>Arthur was cut off mid-sentence as Merlin tumbled into him. They both went rolling a little more, then settled on a flat section. Merlin was directly on top of Arthur. For a minute, They just stared awkwardly at each other. Arthur took in every detail of Merlin's tousled hair, little bits of grass and leaves poking out of it. A warm feeling started building in his chest, and he felt Merlin’s eyes on him. He dropped his gaze to Merlin’s eyes, which shined brightly with mirth, and his lips, which were parted in joy and breathlessness. Feeling himself starting to want to smile, and maybe do something much worse, Arthur decided to go for the evil glare. </p><p>Unfortunately, that backfired. Merlin started laughing uproariously, his head tilting back to reveal his smooth, pale neck. Shoving down that feeling again, Arthur rolled his eyes, and Merlin kept laughing. Arthur sighed, and Merlin kept laughing. Arthur even poked him a bit, but Merlin kept laughing.</p><p>Then Arthur craned his neck up and turned his head slightly to the side, meeting Merlin's lips with his own. Merlin stopped laughing. He pulled away, scurrying further into the grass and out from underneath Arthur.</p><p>As Arthur realized what he'd done, he fell to lay on the grass, and he couldn't turn to look at his servant. <em> Oh gods, what have I done? </em> He thought. His heart rate skyrocketed in panic as he thought back to how soft Merlin’s lips had felt on his, and how he’d tasted sweet, like the plums he often stole from Arthur’s plate. Arthur closed his eyes, fighting the urge to run away. He just hoped Merlin would be willing to forget this ever happened.</p><p>However, Arthur was snapped out of his thoughts by the feeling of Merlin's lips on his. He eagerly sat up, being careful not to break the contact as he wrapped his arms around Merlin’s back. He felt Merlin’s hands roaming on his back and gasped into Merlin’s mouth when he felt a hand slide up under his tunic, touching his bare skin. Arthur reached for Merlin’s neck, pulling at the back of his head to deepen the kiss, reveling in the sensation of Merlin’s soft lips on his.</p><p>Arthur suddenly wanted <em> more </em> , so much <em> more </em>. He wanted to know every inch of Merlin’s skin and lay kisses everywhere he could reach. It was becoming harder and harder to imagine breaking away, even to breathe. Arthur knew he had to stop this now or he’d never leave.</p><p>He pulled away from Merlin, who looked back at him, confused, flushed, and beautiful. His lips were plump and pink and well-kissed. Arthur imagined he looked the same.</p><p>Smiling softly, Arthur whispered, "We should be heading back soon, Merlin. The sun is setting, and we still need to hunt something to bring back."</p><p>Nodding, Merlin said, "Okay. Um... so... what are we...?" </p><p>Arthur smiled fondly at his servant and said, "Don't worry. We'll definitely be doing that again."</p><hr/><p>One week later, Morgana looked out the window again and saw Arthur and Merlin walking out to the forest again. Arthur was carrying his crossbow, so she assumed they were hunting again. However, something about the crossbow didn't look right. Upon a little more examination, she noticed that he didn't have any bolts!</p><p>Morgana chuckled to herself, shaking her head. <em> Those boys, </em> she thought. <em> Always up to something. They're walking even closer together than last week! </em></p><p>The king's ward turned away from the window to put a dress away, but turned back a minute later. She could see Merlin and Arthur walking in the direction of the forest, but they were out of the view of most of the castle. Not her window, though.</p><p>It appeared that the pair didn't know this, however, as they seemed to be holding hands! Morgana's eyebrows shot straight up, and she made a startled sound. Gwen appeared behind her.</p><p>"Milady? Is there something wrong?" Gwen followed Morgana's gaze toward Merlin and Arthur, and smiled. "I always knew it."</p><p>Thus began the weekly tradition of the "hunting trip".</p><hr/><p> </p>
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